Sunday Highlighter Reel: Playing with some Recent Purchases

Today is Sunday which means the day before another hectic week at work. I am dedicating my afternoon to playing with color, specifically trying out some new highlighter purchases.

A few weeks ago, I discovered a new Indie brand through Instagram – I follow the #indiemakeup which has helped me discover many gems in the past.

Beauty Bar Baby (https://beautybarbaby.com/) has a clear unicorn theme (which is not my style) but I was intrigued by the variety of hues and finishes on their Highlighters page. I was immediately offered 10% off. The highlighters were quite reasonably priced. I bought 5; I will review the others in due course, but today I decided to pull out the most promising of the bunch: Pretty in Pink.

The company describes Pretty in Pink as follows:

A beautiful, soft, baby pink duochrome with golden interference.

I paid US$7.99 (before my 10% discount) for a 37mm pan. Shipping was fast (within a few days) and I was very happy with the turnaround time.

Here are a couple of photos of the absolutely gorgeous dark pink and gold pattern. The pan looks luxurious and decadent and the surface glimmers with light.

When applied, the pink is more subdued with the dull gold taking center stage. However, this is a very wearable highlight that will provide the perfect soft glow for work. Check out the below hand and arm swatches, both taken in indoor light.

This can also be work as a duochrome eyeshadow. Intrigued by the idea, I swatched it over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy to bring out the color shifting fire. The first photo is in brighter indoor white light and the next is in lowlight. The pink / gold continuum is quite apparent in both.

Here are a couple of photos of me wearing this gorgeous shade. I am only wearing foundation on my face and have dusted the shade on the high point of my cheek and under my eyebrow. My eyeshadow is Charmed by Looxi Beauty (www.looxibeauty.com) which can also be worn as a highlighter – more to come on Looxi and their breathtaking highlights in a later post.

Bitter Lace Beauty (www.bitterlacebeauty.com) is another recently discovered Indie company. There are many unicorns / mermaids / rainbows proliferating their website and social pages. However, that isn’t surprising given that Bitter Lace Beauty is known for being the company that launched the viral rainbow highlighter.

Bitter Lace Beauty has a very well-defined niche – they focus on highlighters only. Although these highlighters can certainly also be used as eyeshadows.

Siren Song is US$18 and is described by the brand as: rusty orange / purple base with an intense teal reflect.

The pan shows the distinctive duochrome effect of this highlight. The base appears burgundy in one shot and gunmetal purple from another angle. The teal overlay is quite intense; however, it consists of powdery micro particles that are difficult to pick up with a brush.

I originally worked this with a fan brush but was disappointed. All I picked up was a dull rust with barely any teal reflects. Not satisfied with a brush swatch, I decided to try a couple of different things.

Here are a few swatches in various indoor warm and cool lighting.Top (right) is a finger swatch and bottom (left) is over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy.

The finger swatch definitely shows greater intensity than what I could accomplish with a brush. Burnished brown / rust / with faint pink highlights – I think this is better suited as a replacement for my bronzer / blush than as a highlight.

I love what it does over my sticky base – the duochrome is standout and the shadow looks a lot more purple (although you can see the faint burgundy underbelly). The teal reflects appear more vivid turquoise blue.

Photographing this on my face was a frustrating experience. Applied with a fan brush:

And then I went in with my fingers and ended up with glitter on my face:

I must mention that my experience with this brand was a very positive one – unfortunately, a couple of my highlighters arrived shattered and Bitter Lace Beauty replaced them right away at no cost to me. Great customer service!

My eyelid shade here is Pink Lemonade by Emme Cosmetics (www.emmecosmetics.ca) and my lipstick is Big Bang by Urban Decay Cosmetics (www.urbandecay.com). Here is a close-up of my lipstick – sorry it is kind of grainy. I love the princessy drama of this shade although I cannot imagine ever wearing it outside the house.

Clionadh Cosmetics (www.clionadhcosmetics) also does duochrome highlighters – I included one of their gorgeous duochrome eyeshadows in my March favorites post earlier today.

Enchantment is part of Clionadh’s Witchcraft duochrome palette but can also be bought standalone for CAD$14. Clionadh describes Enchantment as follows:

A pale rose base with a light green shift and green and red microsparkles.

It looks quite pink in the pan. The texture is soft and very fine.

I did a finger swatch (top / right) and a swatch over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. The first photo is under my indoor vanity light, the second is in sunlight, and the third is with the Vivid filter to bring out the sharp color contrast.

I can definitely see strong notes of rose with a silvery overlay where the light hits.

I also did a brush swatch on my hand which showed different perspectives in this complex color. Both are in indoor lighting; depending on the angle, you can see golds, greens, pinks, and silver.

Here is a photo of me wearing the highlighter. On my face, the color shifts from pink to rose to silver. This shade is perfect for the rosy glow; I wear it to work quite often. On my eyelids, I am wearing another Clionadh duochrome – Toadstool which is another multidimensional shade that helps me create a professional look with minimal effort.

Vanessa’s Vanity Blushing Bride represents my final effort for the day. Vanessa’s Vanity (www.vanessasvanity.com) is a brand I originally discovered on Etsy. After enjoying much-deserved success, Vanessa’s Vanity now has her own website.

Based in the US, this indie brand makes gorgeous, pigmented highlighters. I have made 2 orders over the past couple of months. I am thoroughly enjoying the first batch and eagerly awaiting my next order.

Blushing Bride is one of several highlighters I ordered. I ordered the 37mm pan for CAD$13.26. The company describes this highlighter as follows: Pink / mauve / rose gold duochrome shifts to a mauve gold.

The following hand swatches (with a brush) definitely show notes of bronze, gold, pink, and rose. I am including a finger swatch which similarly showcases a very wearable blend of shades.

I feel that this color is rather perfect for my skintone. It really does melt into my complexion, helping brighten and add dimension. In sunlight, it doesn’t even look like I am wearing anything – I kind of felt like a sun goddess wearing this. Truly effortless.

In indoor lighting – definitely seeing the mauve here in perfect complement to my tan complexion. I think this one will become a new favorite.

That’s it for today’s highlighters. Please feel free to leave any suggestions you may have for what I want to swatch / photograph next – I have a fairly gigantic Indie collection so I am just getting started!